Project Overview

The RKO Keith Theatre was acquired by us in December 2013. Located in the heart of Downtown Flushing, NY, RKO Keith’s Theater was once one of the most celebrated movie palaces in New York City. Designed by noted theater architect Thomas W. Lamb and built in 1928, the property is listed on the National Landmark’s Preservation Commission and in 1984, the theatre’s lobby was separately landmarked by the Landmark’s Preservation Commission. Redevelopment plans include a newly constructed 405,095 SF mixed use building featuring 269 condominiums, 23,373 SF of retail space, a 15,857 SF community facility and 325 parking spaces. In addition, the landmarked lobby will be preserved and integrated into the new design. The project is estimated to be complete during the fourth quarter of 2017.

The Downtown Flushing Chinatown, Queens, New York City is one of the largest and fastest growing ethnic Chinese regions outside of Asia as well as within New York City itself. Main Street and the area to its west, particularly along Roosevelt Avenue, have become the primary nexus of Flushing Chinatown. However, Chinatown continues to expand southeastward along Kissena Boulevard and northward beyond Northern Boulevard. Given its rapidly growing status, Flushing Chinatown may surpass the original New York City Chinatown (Manhattan) in size and population within a few years. According to the New York Times, Flushing Chinatown now rivals Manhattan's Chinatown for being the center of Chinese-speaking New Yorkers' politics and trade.

The New York City residential real estate market is stronger today than it has ever been with new condominium buildings selling for full asking price and selling out pre-construction. The current average price for a Manhattan apartment is close to $1,400 per square foot. New York City construction is anticipated to reach $33 billion in 2014, shattering the previous high in 2007 of $31.1 billion. It has become nearly impossible to afford to purchase an apartment in Manhattan; the migration to Flushing Chinatown is an ideal location with easy access to public transportation and less than 5 miles from Manhattan.

Location Overview

Queens, New York

Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City, the largest in area, and the second-largest in population. The borough of Queens has been coterminous with Queens County since 1899. The county is now the second most populous county in New York State behind neighboring Kings County (Brooklyn), as well as the fourth-most densely populated county in the United States. Queens and Brooklyn sit on the west end of geographic Long Island. Queens is the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world with a population of over 2.2 million, 48% of whom are foreign-born, representing over 100 different nations and speaking over 138 different languages.

Queens is home to two of the major New York City area airports, JFK International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. These airports are among the busiest in the world. Attractions in Queens include Flushing Meadows Park—home to the New York Mets baseball team (Citi Field), the US Open tennis tournament, and Aqueduct Racetrack. Additionally, city planning officials have just approved Willets Point mega mall, including 200 stores, restaurants and a movie theater, to be constructed on the grounds of Citi Field, approximately 1 mile from the condo building site. Queens has the second-largest economy of New York City's five boroughs, second only to Manhattan. Queens has the most diversified economy of the five boroughs, with evenly spread jobs across the health care, retail trade, manufacturing, construction, transportation, and film and television production sectors.

According to 2012 Census Estimates, 27.2% of the population was Caucasian, 20.9% African American, 24.8% Asian, 12.9% from another race, and 2.7% of two or more races. Among the Asian population, people of Chinese ethnicity make up the largest ethnic group at 9.0% of Queens' population, with about 200,000 people.

Flushing Chinatown

Downtown Flushing is the largest urban center in Queens, and home to the second largest Chinatown in New York City. The downtown sidewalks pulse with people of all nationalities but predominantly East Asians, specifically Chinese and Koreans. Flushing Chinatown is home to a vibrant middle class and blue-collar community and wealthier than Manhattan Chinatown. Prior to 1970, Flushing was mostly an Italian and Greek neighborhood. During the 1970s the area was shaken by the economic turmoil. People left Flushing and housing prices declined. Korean and Chinese immigrants began migrating to Flushing in the late 1970s, and have dominated since the 1990s.

The intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue, the business center for Flushing, has a large concentration of Chinese and Korean businesses, including Asian restaurants. Chinese-owned businesses in particular dominate the area along Main Street and the blocks west of it. Many of the signs and advertisements of the stores in the area are in Chinese. Ethnic Chinese constitute an increasingly dominant proportion of the Asian population including the overall population in Flushing. Flushing Chinatown has grown rapidly enough to become the second-largest Chinatown outside of Asia.